The Fediverse is not a product. It's time to get real about marketing

If projects are going to convince people to try alternatives to Big Tech, they need to do a much better job of explaining why they're better for people who don't care about technical details like protocols and decentralization.

When the AI boom subsides, the data centers will remain. What we do now matters

Data centers are the new factories. How we think about the precedents they set matters.

The Pope used his first encyclical to warn about tech centralization

"When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few, it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight, [giving] rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities."

Affordances for me, but not for thee

For years, people have tried hard to get websites to build accessibility affordances. Now developers are willingly building them for AI.

Like sunrise over a sink

It appears that the winner of a short story prize was generated with AI. But how was it selected?

Why micropayments can't save news

Why an ephemeral model can't fund relationship-based work

A quarter of a century of open educational technology

Every day for 25 years, Stephen Downes has written about edtech, informing an entire industry.

Notable links: May 15, 2026

What happens after the feed? And how can publishers remain independent?

52 actionable posts about building a culture of innovation

One year of consistent posts is nothing to sneeze at. But when each one is genuinely useful, actionable, and insightful, that's another level of achievement.

AI may be the new gatekeepers, but human connection is more needed than ever

"What comes next, after the algorithmic social feed that’s defined our digital social lives for the last decade?" I believe this very useful presentation will be referred back to for years to come.

Bridging feels seamless. Behind the scenes, it's a technical marvel

"When you all give us your hard-earned money, we feel a deep responsibility to use it as well, and as efficiently, as possible." A responsibility A New Social lives up to in spades.

To maintain their independence, publishers are fleeing Substack

"Substack faced talent drain in 2024 linked to its platforming of Nazi newsletters, but now it’s not just the platform’s stance on hate speech that’s driving away creators."